Sam Simonton was crowned the women’s skeet champion at the 2024 International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup Final in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, October 17.
“I’m happy to have won,” Simonton, a 10-time international medalist said. “It will probably take me some time to give it and myself some more credit. I proved a lot to myself this competition, specifically in the final.”
The annual International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup Final is a prestigious competition where only athletes that are ranked top 10 in the world in their respective events receive an invitation to compete. Simonton has plenty of experience after competing in four ISSF World Cup Finals, earning bronze in 2022 and her first gold medal this year.
“My goal was to win, but deeper into that, I wanted to shoot a good final,” Simonton, who hails from Gainesville, Georgia, said about her mindset going into the competition. “I’d been training some new things with my Army teammates, and I really wanted to see how they worked in the final. I’ve always recognized that finals have historically been my weakest. There is always room for improvement.”
Simonton advanced to the women’s skeet final in second place after firing a qualification score of 124/125. Her dedication to training paid off—in the final, Simonton outshot the top-ranked shooter in qualification, Diana Bacosi of Italy, winning the gold medal with a two-target advantage, 56-54.
Simonton only missed a total of four targets during the final.
“After the first station I hit two of four targets and that was not ideal,” she said about competing in the women’s skeet final. “I was just trying to keep staying alive the whole time. Even when I’d gotten a little bit of a lead by a target or two, I still treated myself as though I was behind, and I think that pressure helped.”
In addition, Simonton’s USA Shooting teammate, Dania Vizzi, earned a spot in the women’s skeet final, claiming fourth place with a score of 32/60. In qualification, Vizzi was ranked third with a score of 122/125.
Simonton, who is a sergeant currently serving in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, was an Olympic alternate for both the Paris 2024 and Tokyo 2020 Games. Now, she has her sights set on making the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
“It’s hard to fall short to the first alternate position two quads in a row and just walk away,” Simonton said. “I want to know what making that team is like. I want to be the best in the world on that stage.”
Simonton’s next competition will be the USA Shooting shotgun selection match in spring of 2025.
See the full results of the 2024 ISSF World Cup Final at the International Shooting Sport Federation website.
Learn more about USA Shooting at usashooting.org.
